Our latest episode of the Read Them Sideways podcast is a discussion between postdoctoral research fellow, Phoebe Matich and host Sebastian Svegaard. They chat about Phoebe's recently completed PhD, with a focus on misinformation and truth claims in Australian journalism.

I could not make it to march yesterday in support of protestors in Iran, so I listened to this podcast again. And I really recommend it.

Hey BlueSky, most of you have access to internet connectivity that the people of Iran currently do not. Do me a favour and share this podcast episode from the DMRC Digital Publics group. We can no longer accept catastrophic silence. Solidarity means paying attention and creating visibility

I had a chat with @pardisyarahmadi.bsky.social about the situation in Iran, and the horrors hidden behind and by the digital blackout. If you'd like to know more about the context and how you can help, have a listen.

What is happening in Iran is horrifying. And the silence is deafening. The people of Iran deserve to have their fight and plight seen and heard - at the very least.

The social media age ban started today. Hear more about what it means for the younger ones, where it all started, and where it may take us in the future, from the DMRC director @antmandan.bsky.social:

PhD researcher Kate FitzGerald has a new article out in The Conversation today looking at generative AI chatbots and conspiracy theories.

Looking forward to kicking this project off with a dream team!

Hey #AoIR2025 participants, the upcoming @qutdmrc.bsky.social Summer School will be highly relevant to many of you:

A highly recommended read: policyreview.info/articles/ana...

I had a lot of fun chatting with Klaus (@klaus.bsky.social) about The Discursive-Digital Link. You can listen to the episode on the Read Them Sideways podcast.

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! @mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and myself have combined our collective brains and written a wide-reaching introduction to the complex and interdisciplinary field of Game Studies in this forthcoming book for Polity. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...

Very excited to share that my book, The Discursive-Digital Link, is now available for pre-order on Routledge: tinyurl.com/the-ddl. The e-book is already available to order with a 30% discount! You can also read the synopsis and the Introduction chapter on my website: essideh.com/ddl/ (thread)

Brilliant comments/thread! Very well put, Tim

Made it to my final seminar (thesis pre-defence) today - thanks to the efforts and support of my supervisors, research participants, and many others.

Wonderful to see another excellent @qutdmrc.bsky.social PhD student reach her final seminar milestone – @kkasianenko.bsky.social with a thesis on cosmopolitan responses to the Russian war on Ukraine. 🇺🇦 🫶

Serving on the PhD admission committee this year. We're offering two scholarships in Digital Culture and Communication—one specifically for international candidates. Know talented candidates passionate about digital culture? Send them our way! Details: www.uniurb.it/concorsi/9085

"At the root of our problems with social media is... a mistake: that we delegated to profit-seeking businesses what I call “the space of the world”." Read @couldrynick.bsky.social s piece for @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...

🗽 Big day for new publications: the special issue of _Comunicazione Politica_ that @gboccia.bsky.social, @essideh.com, Laura Iannelli, and I edited has now come out, and includes our introduction on Fringe Democracy and the Platformisation of the Public Sphere. www.rivisteweb.it/do...

Remember when social media was sometimes good, thanks to users and what they built? We do! Please check out this 'minor history' of Twttr and its community-created bots from @domcarlon.bsky.social @kkasianenko.bsky.social & me, out now in Convergence journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

💡 NEW ARTICLE ALERT 💡 My article with @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues @kkasianenko.bsky.social, @vishneww.bsky.social, @essideh.com, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social is now out in Social Media + Society. We introduce a new analytics method: #PracticeMapping. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

"It is not about whether such technology will be good or bad for society... those who control the production and use of information technology will shape it in ways that are good for some and destructive for others" (Mosco, 1982, p. 8)

Our @techpolicypress.bsky.social article is based on our recent paper examining Community Notes through the lens of humour. We find that CN enacts a narrow conception of disinformation that is ill-equipped to address hate and harm. eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat...

Our piece on Community Notes and its narrow understanding of the disinformation problem is now live on @techpolicypress.bsky.social. It is based on our paper on the topic, which can be found here: eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat...

Our article 'The discursive function of the Meta Newsroom' is out! In it, me, @essideh.com, @voddenlaura.bsky.social, and @antmandan.bsky.social examine how Meta's blog framed issues to do with mis/disinfo, hate speech, etc on Meta platforms during 2016-2021. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

🚨🚨 New publication with @eddyhurc.bsky.social, @antmandan.bsky.social, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... (thread below)

Pre-orders are now open for AGE OF DOUBT. Edited by Tracey Kirkland and Gavin Fang, this book is a collection of essays by global experts on trust in the world today. My essay looks at bots and moral panic as we hurtle into the future of Generative AI. publishing.monash.edu/product/age-...

Amidst Meta's content moderation changes, @nadiajude.bsky.social and I have a new paper in press on how the 'Community Notes' model corrects narrow understandings of the disinformation problem eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat... We're also preparing a piece for Tech Policy Press that we'll share soon

If you’re at Woodford this year, come listen to @essideh.bsky.social @antmandan.bsky.social, Benson Rajan and me talk about online safety! 29 December, 6:15-7:15pm at the Arbour @qutdmrc.bsky.social

What are the main challenges for the global fact-checking movement? Our new open access issue explores the institutional dynamics and regional variations of fact-checking organizations worldwide. Issue: shortt.link/mac458bsky

We made a starter pack of researchers affiliated with the QUT Digital Media Research Centre

So happy to be taking home the Top Paper award in Intergroup Communication, #ICA24. Many thanks to the best collaborators: @KKasianenko , @dom_carlon , and @ashwinnag, and generous funding from @qutdmrc. We analysed 16 years worth of submissions across 11 political subreddits.

🗞️ Very happy to see my excellent @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleague and PhD student @kkasianenko.bsky.social cited in the Japan Times today, commenting on the deluge of conflict mis- and disinformation on Xitter: www.japantimes.co.jp/business/202...

Full slides for my #FoJ2023 paper with @flxvctr.bsky.social @essideh.bsky.social Laura Vodden are here – and much more analysis of these datasets is still to come: snurb.info/node/2846

Canada's Facebook news ban, the #Voice referendum, #Robodebt, and that Facebook study: I've just updated the blog with some recent podcasts and opinion pieces (also featuring QUT DMRC colleagues @antmandan.bsky.social and @essideh.bsky.social)... https://snurb.info/node/2808

In light of @robodebtRC 's report into #Robodebt, let's have a reminder about the crucial role of activists like @Asher_Wolf. We've tracked their pivotal role in the campaign since 2016. Some findings here by @snurb_dot_info & me, via @ConversationEDU theconversation.com/the-rise-of-ro…

I had a chat with Steve Austin in yesterday’s Brisbane Drive @ABCaustralia , about the recent shifts in news consumption by young people, and challenges for journalists and news organisations.My bit start at around the 00:41:00 mark) abc.net.au/brisbane/progr…

And (almost) finishing #ica23 is @kathaesa presenting very timely and important work on definitions of polarisation, particularly introducing the concept of destructive polarisation.

Kicking off #ICA23 with a brilliant paper by @qutdmrc superstars, @KKasianenko and @ZGuangnan_rio on conspiratorial narratives during times of crisis, particularly in the context of philanthropic measures and individuals

Great profile piece on @Asher_Wolf and her important role in #RoboDebt activism, written by the brilliant @JewelTopsfield , and small contributions from me. Happy to see the role of digital activists such as Asher is recognised. theage.com.au/national/who-i…

Glad to have our latest paper with @ashwinnag published in @SocialMedia_Soc. In this study, we look at how a non-Political (capital P) topic becomes politicised, radicalised, and Politicised. We argue that when dealing with polarising and antagonistic topics, (1/4

Jumping on the #midjourney wagon (by @midjourney ). Here is"tormented philosopher thinking about what could have been"...

The closer we get to federal elections, the higher the chance of getting exposed to elections-related disinformation. @michelle_lias from @SBSNews addresses some of the things the @AusElectoralCom is doing in this regard, with some contributions by me. sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/…

The Ukraine situation is too familiar, and too terrible... This song keeps ringing in my head for the past couple of days... Sleepless by Anathema: youtu.be/CxY1B8mdGuA

Oh well... Wordle 232 X/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 ⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟨🟨🟩⬛ 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩

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